I have an opinion…………..

WHAT’S YOUR SHTICK?

Someone sent me a picture of The Naked Cowboy while in NYC today. She was surprised by this guy. I’d seen him before in NYC several years back and even saw him at a trade show in Salt Lake City more recently at the Outdoor Retailer Show. Made me think, ‘what’s your shtick’? I talk a lot about individuality and standing out. I’m not saying go stand on a corner in your BVDs strumming a guitar wearing a cowboy hat, but…………think about it.

Mental Leap Frog led me to the Potato Peeler guy – sold his wears for years on the streets of NYC, $5 or so a pop and lived on Park Avenue sending his kids to college!

The Naked Cowboy, NYC Times Square

Mental Leap Frog led me to the Potato Peeler guy – sold his wears for years on the streets of NYC, $5 or so a pop and lived on Park Avenue sending his kids to college!

Joe Ades, The Potato Peeler Guy

Watch footage of him:

I walked through some Paris flea markets with my friend David Patton last year and we stumbled on this guy making furniture. The guy was just working away unaware anyone was watching him wearing a long white lab coat over his clothing. I said to David, ‘that’s part of his shtick! That should be part of your shtick!’

What’s your shtick? Make it yours!

Just in case you didn’t know…….

A shtick (Yiddish: שטיק) (or schtick) is a comic theme or gimmick. “Shtick” is derived from the Yiddish word shtik (שטיק), meaning “piece”; the closely related German word Stück has the same meaning. Another variant is “bits of business” or just “bits”; comic mannerisms A shtick can also refer to an adopted persona, usually for comedy performances, that is maintained consistently (though not necessarily exclusively) across the performer’s career.

In common usage, the word shtick has also come to mean any talent, style, habit, or other eccentricity for which a person is particularly well-known, even if not intended for comedic purposes. For example, a person who is known locally for his or her ability to eat dozens of hot dogs quickly might say that it was their shtick.